MOSCOW — Four Russian cities — Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kazan and the Black Sea resort of Sochi — have been nominated to stage the 2017 Confederations Cup, the local organizing committee (LOC) said Tuesday. The eight-team tournament, to be played in June 2017, will serve as a prelude to the World Cup to be hosted by the world's largest country for the first time the following year. The under-construction Gazprom-Arena in St. Petersburg is set to stage the opening match and the final of the quadrennial event, LOC said on its website. LOC wants Moscow and Sochi stadiums to stage the Opening and Closing ceremonies of the 2014 Games. — Reuters
